SILENT TESTIMONY (Advent 8)

LUKE 1: 18 Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”
19 The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. 20 And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.”

“God, are you sure you want to use me?” How many times have we asked that question, in a variety of ways? Perhaps what we are really saying is, “You have got to be kidding” One, we don’t believe in ourselves. Two, we really don’t want to do the thing God has asked of us. Three, we may only believe in God when he is “up there” and not “in here” . . . in our heart where faith lives. If we do not follow God’s leading, faithfully do what He has asked of us, and then tell all those around us about His work in our lives—our testimony, we too have a silent testimony, just like Zechariah. Another opportunity has been lost to give a first-hand account of the presence of Holy God. Let us pray:

“God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we bow before your Holy name. Let this be the day when we say ‘yes’ to you, so that we become part of your marvelous plan and not a stumbling block for others. Forgive us when we have not had the faith to believe, or the courage to bear witness to what you have done in our life. Take our lives and let us be yours, now and during this Holy season of Christ’s birth. In the name of Jesus, whose birth caused stars to shine in the night sky, we pray. Amen”
Doris
“God gives us stories that testify to His love. Let me tell you mine.”
Copyright 2011 Doris Gaines Rapp, Ph.D.